SAN DIEGO — Throughout spring training, the Giants were adamant in their belief that they could compete. They understood that prognosticators did not hold them in the same esteem as the Dodgers or the Padres or the Diamondbacks, but they repeatedly expressed confidence in the talent they possessed.
One month in, they’ve proven themselves right.
Despite losing twice in San Diego to end the month, the Giants enter May with a record of 19-12. They rank third in the stacked NL West behind the Dodgers (21-10) and Padres (19-11) but are tied with the Detroit Tigers for the fourth-best record in all of baseball.
Here are five things we learned from this month:
Kings of the dramatic
The Giants began their season with a thrilling victory in Cincinnati as Wilmer Flores hit a go-ahead, three-run, ninth-inning homer to stun the Reds. In retrospect, that swing set the tone for the month.
Of San Francisco’s 19 victories, 10 have come in games where they’ve trailed by at least two runs. Beginning with Willy Adames’ heroics in the home opener, five of their wins have been of the walk-off variety. With the exception of one blowout loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, they’ve been in every game they’ve played. Even as they were swept by the Padres, their offense kept the games close.
“There’s always kind of a late-game fight or a fight when we’re behind in the game,” said manager Bob Melvin. “I think that bodes well for us.”
Adames’ big early concern
The Giants’ new $182-million man finished his first month in San Francisco with two homers, 15 RBIs and a .592 OPS. Adames has always been a slow starter — his career .678 OPS entering Wednesday is the lowest of any month — and finished April by reaching base in each of his last eight games. The true early concern lies in his defense.
In 2024, Adames’ minus-16 defensive runs saved were the second-worst mark in baseball. Entering Wednesday, Adames’ minus-8 defensive runs saved are tied for the second-worst in all of baseball. His four errors are the most on the Giants, and his minus-5 outs above average are the fewest of any shortstop.
Bullpen shutting it down
Aside from trading Taylor Rogers to the Cincinnati Reds, the Giants barely touched their bullpen this offseason. So far, San Francisco’s relievers have rewarded the front office’s faith by posting a 2.41 ERA, the second-lowest mark in all of baseball.
Ryan Walker owns an inflated 5.91 ERA after his poor outings against the Angels and Brewers, but he finished the month with back-to-back scoreless outings.
Camilo Doval endured his own rough stretch but hasn’t allowed a run in his last eight outings. Walker remains the closer, and Melvin has the luxury of Doval as a backup in that role should Walker be unavailable.
Tyler Rogers (0.59 ERA) and Randy Rodríguez (1.42 ERA) have been just about automatic, and Hayden Birdsong has posted a 1.13 ERA with 18 strikeouts with no walks over 16 innings. Birdsong will remain in the bullpen for now, but his long-term future remains as a starter. When he’ll get that chance remains to be seen.
Despite concerns of Erik Miller being the bullpen’s only left-handed reliever, the bullpen has held left-handed hitters to a slash line of .200/.290/.358 entering Wednesday
Top-heavy offense
The Giants’ 142 runs scored rank 12th in baseball. It’s a better place to be than where they finished in 2023 (24th) or 2024 (17th), but their offense isn’t exactly humming either.
Following Wednesday’s loss, San Francisco ranks 20th in on-base percentage, 22nd in slugging percentage and 25th in batting average. Here’s the team’s collective OPS over the last four seasons:
2022: .7052023: .6952024: .7012025: .683
Jung Hoo Lee is emerging as a potential star (.901 OPS) and Mike Yastrzemski has hit his way into the leadoff spot (.888 OPS) but four regulars — Adames, Flores, Patrick Bailey, LaMonte Wade Jr. — are below-average hitters according to wRC+. Matt Chapman is drawing walks nearly 20 percent of the time but has three hits in his last 10 games.
Flores, Verlander bouncing back
Wilmer Flores and Justin Verlander grinded through injuries last season and their production suffered as a result. Healthy again, they’ve shown themselves capable of contributing.
Flores only hit four home runs last season over 71 injury-riddled games, but the 33-year-old has already hit seven homers over 30 games in 2025. His 28 RBIs not only lead the team but are tied with the Mets’ Pete Alonso for the third-most in all of baseball.
Verlander finished the month with a 4.99 ERA over his first six outings and remains searching for his first win as a Giant but ended the month with back-to-back quality starts. On April 20, Verlander allowed one earned run over six innings. On April 25, he went six more innings and allowed two earned runs.